Golden Bears Fall to UNE in First Semester Finale, 5-0

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (December 9, 2017) – The Western New England University ice hockey team suffered a 5-0 setback to the University of New England on Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Olympia Ice Center.

Top Performers
• Junior CJ Totillo (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the Golden Bears with a team-high five shots on goal, while senior Matt Smethurst (Rexford, N.Y.) went 11-for-20 in the faceoff circle.

• UNE freshman Brett Mecrones (Medford, Mass.) factored into three of the Nor'easters' five goals, as he scored two himself and recorded an assist on another.
• UNE sophomore goaltender Tate Sproxton (Surrey, B.C.) registered a 20-save shutout.

Game Review
• Mecrones got the Nor'easters on the board 13 minutes into the opening period, before dishing out an assist on his brother Derek Mecrones' (Medford, Mass.) goal just 4:42 later.
• Sophomore defenseman Ryan Burr (Toms River, N.J.) tallied the lone goal of the second period on a UNE power play at the 10:18 mark.
• The Nor'easters tacked on two more goals in the third period, including Brett Mecrones' second of the contest in the final minute of play.

Notes
• UNE outshot Western New England 36-20 and held a 37-33 advantage in the faceoff circle.
• Junior goaltender Kevin Gollmer (Flourtown, Pa.) finished with 31 saves for the Golden Bears.

Up Next
Western New England (4-9-1, 1-8-1 CCC) will be off for the next four weeks, before opening 2018 with a home contest against Framingham State on Saturday, January 6. UNE (7-3-2, 5-3-2 CCC) returns to the ice on January 2 at home against Colby College.